The first wave of #MeToo stories in the restaurant industry has focused on these overt forms of harassment where employees, held hostage by their need for a paycheck, have been bearing it from guests and coworkers for far too long; the type of harassment that festers alongside unequal power structures of tipped and non-tipped workers or the long-stewing "boy’s club" mentality in professional kitchens.

Yet the conversation has largely side-stepped what happens to guests at restaurants, a grayer area that’s informed (or not) by a lack of legal accountability, the strange dynamic between server and customer, and the fact that the definition of "good hospitality" varies from person to person. We assume not only that the customer is always right but that they always have the power — to walk away,
to find a new place to eat, to complain to a manager — so little attention has been paid to how often misconduct happens to guests, too.

Keep up with the latest and dive into all areas of hospitality news through our converge blog with new articles posted each week

Purchase Textbook

Hospitality Law: Managing Legal Issues in the Hospitality Industry is a practical approach to hospitality law

See What's New

Restaurant Owners Beware: Data Breaches Hurt The Bottom Line

March 7, 2019 via Total Food Service

Everywhere you turn today, you hear about high-profile data breaches of restaurants including Panera Bread, Sonic, Arby’s, Dunkin Donuts and Chili’s. You may think that data breach is only a threat to the national chains, but if your restaurant accepts credit cards and has employees, you are at risk as well.

As #MeToo Takes Down Alleged Sexual Harassers At The Top Levels Of Power, Chain Restaurants Face Fresh Scrutiny

March 7, 2019 via Insider

Sexual harassment continues to afflict the service industry more than any other private sector. According to the Center for American Progress, there are three times as many reported incidences of sexual harassment among hotel and restaurant workers than there are among manufacturing and healthcare industry employees.

DOL Set To Require Overtime For Managers Earning Less Than $35K, Reports Say

March 1, 2019 via Restaurant Business Online

Salaried restaurant employees making less than $35,000 annually would be eligible for overtime pay under a rule change likely to be proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor sometime this month, according to media and other reports.